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Visit our online edition for breaking news, jobs, events, features and searchable directory. www.engineeringcapacity.com Editor: Andy Sandford editor@engineeringcapacity.com Sales Manager: Arfan Qureshi sales@engineeringcapacity.com Graphic Design: Dave Blake blakey@djbdesign.co.uk Printer: Holbrooks Printers Limited Norway Road, Portsmouth PO3 5HX Engineering Capacity is published six times a year in January, March, May, July, September and November SUBSCRIPTIONS Engineering Capacity is available free of charge to UK buyers and suppliers of subcontract manufacturing services. For non-qualifying readers, annual subscription rates are as follows for 6 issues posted to addresses in: UK £60.00; Europe £80; Rest of the World £100 You can request your copy and sign up to our free weekly email newsletter on our website or contact us via subscriptions@engineeringcapacity.com www.engineeringcapacity.com Tel: O1737 270 648 Published by: Engineering Capacity Ltd Abbey House, 25 Clarendon Road Redhill, Surrey, RH1 1QZ United Kingdom Registered in England company number 10567217 ISSN 0306-0179 COMING UP IN OUR MAY 2018 ISSUE Laser & Waterjet cutting, Additive Manufacturing, Machined Components, Subcon Preview, Automechanika Preview Please send editorial for consideration to editor@engineeringcapacity.com There is no charge or cost involved with having your editorial included in the magazine or on our website
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Editor’s View Among the media’s usual diet of transient political and celebrity stories, and with the distraction of a nerve gas attack in one of Britain’s tranquil cathedral cities, you might have missed National Apprenticeship Week. Which is a great pity, because it can’t be emphasised enough that a university degree is not the only, and certainly not always the best, route into a fulfilling and rewarding career. This is certainly true in engineering where being paid to learn on the job can put you at least two steps ahead of a debt-laden graduate. Figures published by EEF show that only 7% of students at statefunded mainstream schools and colleges went on to an apprenticeship after key stage 5 compared to 51% that went on to higher education. So, there is a lot of work still to be done to get the message across. 72% of manufacturers say raising awareness of apprenticeships will get more young people into engineering. The Government has tried to help with the introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy, which seems to be working up to a point but there are questions about how easy it is to tap into the resources on offer. The Chancellor has put another £80m into the scheme to try and ease the problems, which is certainly welcome and probably not before time. According to another piece of research, the In-Comm Training Barometer, which questions small, medium and large companies across 12 engineering sectors, just 55% of manufacturers believe it is working – although over a fifth said that they had taken on new apprentices because of it. Gareth Jones, Managing Director of In-Comm Training, said: “It’s clear from the anecdotal information we received… that a lot of Managing Directors and Training Managers believe there needs to be better communication, more transparency and an ability to use the Levy to boost other forms of training too.” The EEF figures bear this out showing that a quarter of manufacturers want more information on finding and recruiting apprentices to help them with the Levy. Andy Sandford, Editor
Pr Precision ecision Machined C Components omponents Est. 45 y years ears ISO Appr Approval oval 20 y years ears
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Contents March 2018
11 INDUSTRY NEWS
News
Features
06 Lasers helping Britain’s Armed Forces 06 Specialist drilling and
14 Turned Parts 06 JAW opens up to CNC Precision parts from additive process Making light work of heavy applications
engraving plays its role
06 MIDeST en marche 06 French subcontracting show endorsed by Macron
14 TURNED PARTS
08 Medical parts from US to UK 06 Aluminium components
19 Forming & Fabrication 06 Expanding into fusion and beyond Bridging creative and engineering disciplines Latest score at Hampden Park Weird sounds for ‘Scottish Play’
repatriated to Suffolk
09 Aerospace buyer for foundry 06 Langham industries sells
26 Measurement & Testing 06 Helping Becci smash bike speed record
Stone Foundries to Aeromet
11 Design challenge for schools 06 The MTA aims to inspire and enthuse students 4
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30 Aerospace 06 More capacity for A350 machining
26 MEASUREMENT & TESTING
32 Surface Treatments 06 4x4 contract for auto anodiser MARCH 2018
Engineering Capacity | INDUSTRY NEWS
Sir Ben Ainslie to open MACH 2018 The UK’s largest manufacturing and engineering exhibition, MACH 2018, will be opened on 9 April by Sir Ben Ainslie the most successful sailor in Olympic history The five-day event runs at the NEC Birmingham from 9 to 13 April and is set to attract in the region of 600 exhibitors and more than 25,000 visitors. Sir Ben won medals at five consecutive Olympics from 1996 onwards, including gold at the four Games held between 2000 and 2012. Sir Ben has a keen interest in manufacturing and the technology behind it, with his British America’s Cup team, Land Rover BAR employing the latest manufacturing processes in the creation of their foiling race boat for the America's Cup. MTA CEO James Selka, said “We are delighted to welcome Sir Ben to open MACH 2018, we know how much hard work and engineering excellence has been employed in the creation of the Land Rover BAR team. They Messe Frankfurt has acquired Forest Exhibitions to set up a UK subsidiary, Messe Frankfurt UK. Forest Exhibitions was the UK licensee of Messe Frankfurt’s Automechanika brand. Messe Frankfurt says that the decision was based on the success of Automechanika Birmingham and the long-term
MARCH 2018
are a fine example of world class British engineering and sporting know how. Sir Ben is a true legend and we are honoured to have him opening the UK’s premier manufacturing and engineering showcase.” Sir Ben Ainslie, said "At Land Rover BAR we bring together huge resources of technical, design and engineering knowledge to create something truly British and unique. We invest in technology
and innovative skills to find solutions for long-term issues in sustainability. I’m very much looking forward to opening the MACH 2018 exhibition and seeing the latest innovations coming out of the UK’s manufacturing technologies sector.” Visitors can register for their Entrance Pass and Fast Track Entry Pack now, via the MACH exhibition website. 8 machexhibition.com
Automechanika acquisition commitment of Messe Frankfurt to the event within the UK automotive industry. Messe Frankfurt is the world's third biggest exhibition organiser. Simon Albert has been appointed as Managing Director of the UK subsidiary.
There will be no operational, commercial or legal impact following the move and the team remains unchanged and is, it says, “full steam ahead with this year’s event”. 8 automechanikabirmingham.com
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INDUSTRY NEWS | Engineering Capacity
Lasers helping Britain’s Armed Forces ES Precision’s lasers are playing a small part in making life more comfortable for amputees and also in helping to celebrate the past and current service of our military community. Blatchford is a British company that develops rehabilitation products, many of which are used by veterans of our armed forces. Optimal control of a prosthetic limb depends on a comfortable and secure connection between limb and socket. Modern liner technology provides excellent cushioning, but the impermeable and insulating materials can allow a build-up of heat and moisture, so they begin to slip and chafe. The patented technology of Silcare Breathe works by letting air and perspiration trapped between the liner and skin to escape This year’s MIDeST exhibition will take place as part of GLOBAL INDUSTRIe, a new show that is a first for France and aims to ‘bring together the whole of France and Europe’s industrial ecosystem’. The event takes place from 27th to 30th March 2018 at Paris Nord Villepinte and has the patronage of the French President Emmanuel Macron. The four complementary events that make up GLOBAL INDUSTRIe are MIDeST, SMART INDUSTRIeS, INDUSTRIe, and TOLeXPO. Although coming together to create under a larger umbrella event, each
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through specially designed laser drilled perforations. ES Precision uses its laser technology to drill Blatchford’s Silcare Breathe liners with holes that are carefully controlled in terms of position and size for a best possible liner wear experience. Valour Band is another British company. Started by a retired army officer, it works with a division of Royal British legion Industries, Britain’s Bravest Manufacturing Company, to
produce commemorative bracelets which recognise past and current service. Valour Bands carry a timeline sequence of links representing medals, qualifications and other awards received; they are upgradable with additional links as earned. ES Precision laser engraves special links with logos for commando, paratrooper, diver and bomb-disposal regiment logos on behalf of Valour Bands Limited. The result is a beautiful and permanent representation on the chosen link. During 2018 ES Precision has decided to donate 10p per Blatchford liner and 5p per Valour Band link it processes to Help for Heroes. 8 esprecision.co.uk
MIDest en marche show will nevertheless preserve its own identity and unique nature. Announcing the event in November the French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said: “It will allow the know-how of our French Fab companies to be promoted and to offer them the best possible springboard for their international expansion.” With GLOBAL INDUSTRIe GL events Group has created France’s largest cross-sector gathering of industry which has the support of industry professionals, regional authorities and trade associations. Founded almost 50 years ago,
MIDeST covers almost every aspect of subcontracting know-how and will feature 1360 exhibitors, of which 40% will be from outside France. The show will include eight focused villages highlighting the show’s various sectors, covering both French and international exhibitors, and including specific examples and demonstrations of technology, the presentation of spectacular or highly technical parts, as well as mini workshops focusing on a sector of subcontracting. 8 MIDeST.com
MARCH 2018
Engineering Capacity | INDUSTRY NEWS Chatteris-based Stainless Metalcraft, which manufactures components for the energy, nuclear and medical technology sectors, has won the top accolade for ‘SME Investment in Skills’ at the SEMTA 2018 Awards. Metalcraft’s award, which was sponsored by Jaguar Land Rover, acknowledges the investment made in skills by SMEs in advanced manufacturing and engineering. It was presented at the engineering skills body’s
National award for skills prestigious awards dinner in London, to celebrate the Best in British Engineering, and attracted over 500 people from industry including representatives from businesses like Siemens, Rolls Royce and BAE Systems. Almost 50% of current employees at Metalcraft have trained as apprentices and over 90% of these go on to take up
permanent roles at the company. The majority of the management team started off as apprentices. Austen Adams, managing director at Stainless Metalcraft, said: “To beat of stiff competition and win this award is testament to the team’s mettle and the company’s commitment to investing in the future of our workforce and our business. 8 metalcraft.co.uk
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MARCH 2018
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INDUSTRY NEWS | Engineering Capacity
Sign up for Subcon Online visitor registration is now open for Subcon, the contract and subcontract manufacturing exhibition, which takes place from 5-7 June 2018 at the NEC in Birmingham. More than 4,500 visitors from aerospace, automotive, defence, electronics, energy, materials, oil and gas and rail sectors are expected to attend and will be able to do business with over 400 exhibitors. The event will present both British manufacturers and international suppliers. Subcon will be co-located with The Engineer Expo, a new event focusing on manufacturing and design products and the latest developments in advanced engineering technologies. Alongside the two shows, the Engineer Conference will feature six-streams in a 36-session programme across two theatres. A key theme will be cross-sector collaboration: taking the lessons learnt from successful innovation within industries such as automotive, aerospace and defence, and applying them elsewhere. 8 subconshow.co.uk
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Medical parts from US to UK A German-based medical OEM which had been getting a family of aluminium parts machined in the US has now placed them with Suffolk based CTPE. The company was an existing customer of CTPE, wanted a single source of supply and was confident of the Suffolk subcontractor's capabilities. Chris and Alex Taylor who run the business decided to invest in a new Brother 30-taper S700X1 3axis machining centre with a 2-axis Nikken table as the best way to meet the customer’s requirements. The work includes six different components, half of which are suited to 3-axis metal cutting while the others benefit from fiveface machining in two operations using 3+2-axis cycles, as otherwise they would need eight set-ups on a three-axis machine. Chris Taylor said, "We like the 3-axis Brother and 2-axis Nikken combination, as we are able to mount the compound table on one side, leaving the rest of the
machine table free for fixturing a second component in a vice for three-axis machining. "In that way, we can get twooperation components off complete each time we open the doors." The company already had an identical Brother machine without the 2-axis table and believes the machines are especially appropriate for CTPE, which processes a lot of aluminium. One of the new medical parts is quite large for a 30-taper machine at 180 x 50 x 50 mm but the Brothers cope with it well, despite more than three-quarters of the billet's material being removed. Accuracy achieved is down to Âą 5 microns positional tolerance, better than is possible on many 40-taper machines. Chris Taylor pointed out that CTPE also produces components in steels including stainless on the S700X1s, although a 30-taper machine would not be appropriate if one is doing that all day. 8 ctpe.co.uk MARCH 2018
Engineering Capacity | INDUSTRY NEWS Aeromet International, which supplies airframe and aero engine components, has announced an agreement to acquire the business and assets of Stone Foundries Ltd from Langham Industries. Aeromet and Stone Foundries have a long track record of providing aluminium and magnesium cast components to the aerospace and defence industries. Following the acquisition, the combined business will continue to provide world class sand and investment castings to its customer base that includes Airbus, Boeing, Embraer, Leonardo, Meggitt and Rolls-Royce. The agreement does not include Stone Foundries’ sister company Tridan Engineering. As production rates in civil aerospace continue to rise, the enlarged Aeromet business will continue to invest in capacity as well as advanced casting technology to develop new and innovative solutions. Vardhan Rajkumar, Chairman of Aeromet, said: “This deal is a very
Aerospace buyer for foundry
Vendigital opens Bristol office
Engine component performance
Supply chain management consultancy, Vendigital, is opening a new office in Bristol to house its expanding Technology and industry teams. With plans to expand the workforce this year, the new office in Bristol will provide a hub for the firm’s growing Technology team, which specialises in developing leading edge e-procurement solutions for organisations across industry sectors. The office will also serve growing demand from the region’s aerospace and defence sector. 8 vendigital.com
Ricardo has recognised Titan as component supplier of the Year for its Shoreham high performance engine assembly plant. Titan, which supplies valvetrain and auxiliary systems components, was selected as highperformance engine components supplier for its 100% throughout 2017. Ricardo’s engine manufacturing business is the focus of a global supply chain and comprising over 85 suppliers across three continents. In 2017, Ricardo performance products hosted its first supply chain and client customer workshops. 8 titan.uk.net
JANUARY 2018
exciting development to consolidate two world class aerospace businesses in the UK. The enlarged business will be manufacturing parts for both Engine and Airframes and we will continue to be the supplier of choice for complex cast parts to the aerospace and defence industry worldwide.” John Townsend, Managing Director of Stone Foundries, said: “The combination of Aeromet and Stone Foundries will secure a bright future for the
company. I am looking forward to joining the Aeromet team and leading the combined sand casting business.” Christopher Langham, Chairman of Langham Industries, said: “This announcement marks the start of a new chapter in the long history of Stone Foundries. The combination of Aeromet and Stone Foundries will create a stronger, more capable partner for our customers.” 8 aeromet.co.uk
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INDUSTRY NEWS | Engineering Capacity Ahead of the Geneva Motorshow in 2017, Pentaxia was briefed on a confidential, highly challenging and demanding project, to deliver 59 components for a new supercar. The supercar project presented Pentaxia with an opportunity to truly demonstrate the benefits of delivering a complex and time sensitive project all under one roof, providing the client with a service that could be delivered on time and on budget. Managing director Stephen Ollier explains: “With just 12 weeks to deliver the project from start to finish, it was imperative that each stage of the process transitioned seamlessly. At Pentaxia we have worked hard to create a facility that can move components directly from one department to another, which ultimately saves the customer time and money during the production process. On this particular project, all the tooling required was designed in-house, by our expert team of design engineers who worked closely with the client and in collaboration with the engineering and d
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Super service for show-stopping supercar
manufacturing teams. This ensured ease of component manufacture without comprising the aesthetics. “Pentaxia was founded as a 5-axis machining specialist, something which has underpinned the growth of our business. Though the supercar project was challenging, our machine shop technicians deployed the skills needed to meet the brief and manufacture the bespoke tooling for the components. The tooling was then transferred to our composites department where the components for the car’s body
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system were created in our environmentally controlled laminating room. From there, the components were hand finished by our skilled fitting team and then surface prepared and lacquered to demanding luxury OEM quality standards in our dedicated surface coating facility. “It’s important to us that the client is informed and involved in the process at every stage. This is why, when the components for the supercar were completed we facilitated a trial fitting with the client before returning the parts to the factory for final lacquering in our in-house paint shop. The finished components were then returned to the client for assembly. “We scheduled a final visit to the customer before the supercar was sent out to Geneva and the finished product could only be described as exquisite. At Pentaxia, we pride ourselves on providing a bespoke service based on a client’s unique needs. This personalised service means that we are able to build lasting relationships and ensure that the client receives a highquality service throughout the duration of the project. “The finished car was a triumph of design, engineering and manufacture by all the teams involved and we are extremely proud that we rose to the occasion to deliver a fast, quality service for such a demanding project. 8 pentaxia.com MARCH 2018
Engineering Capacity | INDUSTRY NEWS The Manufacturing Technologies Association (MTA) has launched the 2018 edition of its flagship competition for D&T and engineering students, the Technology Design and Innovation (TDI) Challenge. Sponsored by Close Brothers, the annual competition for schools and colleges has grown in prominence over the past decade to becoming one of the leading extracurricular school’s competitions in the UK. Previous winners and participants have used the TDI as a springboard into the industry, with last year’s winner in the 17-19 age category, Halimah Ershad of Forest School in London, receiving an undergraduate scholarship to the Dyson School of Engineering. Her project was call BrooDen – which was High End Chick Brooder. Halimah reacted to winning by saying “I can’t believe I have won, it has been a great day and I have really enjoyed myself. It was a brilliant experience seeing a modern manufacturing facility like Mazak. This is a great first step for me in to a career in engineering.” The TDI Challenge has four categories and is open to anyone in the UK who has created an
Design challenge for schools
impressive Design & Technology or Engineering project within school. Many students enter the TDI Challenge with their existing coursework projects. It is not necessary to spend time creating a new project, although projects developed especially for the TDI Challenge are welcomed. Students cannot enter both the individual and group categories. The competition is free to enter, and students can win prizes including an iPad, GoPro, UE Boom Speaker, drone plus many more. The winning school in each category will also win £2000 of credit to spend with Technology
Supplies Limited (Design, Technology & Engineering specialists for education worldwide) on D&T equipment for the classroom. Runner-up prizes of £1000 and £500 are also available for schools in each category. Laura Pickering, Education and Development Manager at the MTA, said “This year the TDI Challenge is even more important, as we are in the Year of Engineering. We want to use this opportunity to inspire the next generation of engineers, and to help widen the diversity of employees within the industry.” 8 mta.org.uk FOR MANUFACTURERS ABOUT SUBCONTRACTORS
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INDUSTRY NEWS | Engineering Capacity
Maintaining accuracy for 40 years Derby aerospace company, Rotadata, which has worked on the NASA space programme, is celebrating 40 years in business this month. Rotadata tests and measures pressure, strain and temperature in the most challenging environments for parts which will go into power production in gas turbines and tests and measures for flight application for the aerospace industry. Clients range include Rolls Royce and General Electric in the UK, USA and Europe. It worked on the USA space programme in the 1980s. The company’s precision testing measures to microns to ensure accuracy needed by Britain’s aerospace industry. The company was set up by former Rolls Royce engineer Jack Taylor in 1978 after seeing the need for more specialised instrumentation services in the sector. Today, Rotadata also spends
Taking lean seriously When Coventry based Arrowsmith Engineering retained its Silver SC21 award it also marked the culmination of a very personal lean journey for on particular employee. When Arrowmith received its 2016 SC21 award, Production Manager Kevin Rist was proud to accept it, but horrified by
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time and money on research and development for the sector as the demands of aerospace move from hardware to software. The company is now run by his son Simon. Managing Director, Simon Taylor said:” I’m proud of the company, the business and its level of technology. I am honoured to be fourth generation ex-Rolls Royce and the second generation running Rotadata. “To be a family owned and
family run business in this sector for forty years is something to be celebrated. It has been a tremendous journey for us all from working with the EU, Russian and US space exploration through to the huge power stations which provide energy across the world. “Most of our staff have been with us almost from the beginning. The work is interesting, challenging and bespoke. Every job is different. They get the chance to engineer and innovate. Our aim is to be as relevant to the sector in 40 years time as we are today.” Simon has since developed the technical knowledge from the aerospace sector to set up a second company Roscom, which provides calibrated test and measurement technology to help mobile phone operators provide 100 per cent accurate bills, fight fraud and comply with regulations in the industry. 8 rotadata.com/roscom.co.uk
how overweight he looked on photos of the presentation which were widely circulated in press and media. For Kevin, a former local amateur footballer with Hinckley Town, this was the wake-up call he needed to implement his own Lean strategy to reduce his weight from the 20 stones plus it had become. Kevin has now lost an amazing six and a half stones (over 40 kilos) and lost over six inches from his waistline meaning this is one
KPI target that has been well and truly smashed The difference in Kevin is all too apparent and Arrowsmith felt it would be only fitting for him to once again receive the SC21 award on behalf of the company to showcase how successful both have been in implementing Lean. Thanks to sponsors, Kevin also raised over £800 for the local Myton Hospice. 8 arrowsmitheng.co.uk
MARCH 2018
Engineering Capacity | PEOPLE
Trade Leads from the EIA The following FREE OF CHARGE trade leads for the UK engineering industry are currently appearing on the Trade Board pages of the Engineering Industries Association at www.eia.co.uk
Merill Readett joins SSC Laser as business development manager for Scotland. Also new at SSC are Carl Swift, North West business development manager and Mark Preston who joins as tube sales manager for the Northern regions.
Julie Mears joins Farnborough International from UTC Aerospace Systems as Head of Delegations and Protocol overseeing the military and commercial delegations programme for the Farnborough International Airshow and the Bahrain International Airshow. MARCH 2018
Joel Durkin has been appointed regional affairs manager to lead EEF’s external affairs programme in the North West. He joins the EEF from business media company Insider, where he was business editor for the North West.
William Lee is the new Chief Executive of Renishaw plc, the global highprecision metrology and healthcare manufacturer. Sir David McMurtry has decided that he wishes to hand over his Chief Executive responsibilities and will become Executive Chairman.
Poland – Flagpoles A small Polish company specialized in manufacturing of flagpoles made of glass fibre and high grade aluminium is looking for trade partners. The company also offers production capacity under a manufacturing agreement. Reference: JV1211 Closing Date: 30/06/2018 Poland – Stainless steel processing A Polish company specialized in stainless steel processing offers complex metal production services under manufacturing agreements which can help the company to expand into new markets. Reference: JV1213 Closing Date: 14/07/2018 Finnish Company for Sale A Family-owned Finnish company, engaged in the design and manufacture of specialist equipment for Mining, Military, Material Handling, Agriculture and Forestry industries is now available for sale. Existing clientele include long-standing customers from Finland, Sweden, Norway, Germany, France, Belgium, Poland, Russia, Chile and other countries. Reference: 31021 Deadline: 29/03/2018 For more information please email head.office@eia.co.uk quoting reference number. Please remember to use due diligence in responding to Trade Leads. Engineering Capacity provides you with the above information in good faith, but is unable to accept any responsibility or legal liability arising from any use of these leads.
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TURNED PARTS | Engineering Capacity JAW Engineering has invested in CNC machining from XYZ to enhance its low volume subcontract capacity and emergency breakdown support service. Up until now, all the machining at the 30-year-old company had been carried out on manual machines, reliant on highly skilled operators, including company founder John White. Now, with John’s son Stuart taking on management of the family business, the time was right to look to the future and move to CNC. “The work that we take on is often short notice breakdown support or the production of small batches, say 50-off, for a range of customers involved in anything from servicing agricultural equipment, to manufacturing electric motors and pharmaceutical products. Because of the nature of the work we thought that our range of manual machines combined with the experience and skills we have available was ideal. However, I became aware that we were losing some business to competitors with CNC machines and, while it had been 20 years since I last operated a CNC machine, I knew we had to invest,” says Stuart White, Director, JAW Engineering Limited. With Stuart’s lack of recent experience in CNC he turned to a longstanding customer for advice, and was invited in to see firsthand, and talk with operators about their XYZ ProtoTRAK controlled machines. “The opportunity to chat with guys on the shop floor, who had no axes to 14
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JAW opens up to CNC
grind was fascinating as not one of them had a bad word to say about XYZ and seeing the ProtoTRAK control in action convinced me that it was the best solution to take us from manual to CNC machinery.” Encouraged by what he saw and heard, Stuart paid a visit to XYZ Machine Tools showroom in Sheffield for a demonstration and made the decision to purchase an SLX 425 ProTURN lathe. With its 480 mm swing over the bed (700 in the gap), between centre distance of 1250 mm (2000 mm option), 80 mm spindle bore, and a 7.5 kW spindle motor with speeds up to
2500 revs/min in three ranges, the SLX is capable of taking on a lot of the work currently undertaken by JAW Engineering. By introducing CNC in the form of the ProtoTRAK control, Stuart White is looking to future-proof the business as finding skilled manual machine operators is not easy, but the ProtoTRAK’s conversational interface makes the job of programming complex parts straightforward. “After just one day’s training I was happy to come back and start producing parts,” says Stuart. “The addition of CNC is allowing us to do more complex work than we could previously, we are more efficient as the control speeds up operations that manually would take much longer, such as screw-cutting. Repeatability is taken for granted and by storing the programs we can quickly repeat parts as and when they are required.” Stuart has also seen a change MARCH 2018
Engineering Capacity | TURNED PARTS in the type of work that he is being offered by customers now that he has CNC capability. And, while there will always be a place for manual machines in JAW Engineering’s role in providing a repair service for some customers, the business is finding that new doors are opening in terms of production-type work. “I don’t think we will ever completely move away from manual machines, but the
The addition of CNC is allowing us to do more complex work than we could previously, we are more efficient as the control speeds up operations that manually would take much longer, such as screw-cutting
‘‘
experience with the XYZ ProTURN lathe has opened our eyes to the possibilities of CNC for a business like ours, which will future-proof
JAW Engineering, as I am confident that anyone can operate these machines with minimal training. There is now scope to expand our customer base and develop our sub-contract production capability further. We now have the confidence to expand further and bring in additional XYZ machines, whether with the ProtoTRAK control or, with the Siemens control.� 8 jawengineering.com
Wealdpark Limited Stand number 5126
Subcontract Capacity #.# MILL TURN FACILITIES USING SLIDING AND FIXED HEAD LATHES WITH BAR CAPACITY UP TO MM DIAMETER -IYANO FIXED HEAD LATHES WITH BAR CAPACITY UP TO MM DIAMETER (URCO VERTICAL MACHING CENTRE 03, $ATATRACK MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE
BS EN ISO 9001:2008. Approved by BSI since 1991.
Company Contact Details Phil Smith, Director, Wealdpark Limited Sutton Road, St. Helens, Merseyside, WA9 3DJ Tel. 01744 22567 / 732083 Fax. 01744 451339 E: sales@wealdpark.co.uk www.wealdpark.co.uk
MARCH 2018
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TURNED PARTS | Engineering Capacity
Precision parts from additive process Specialist subcontract engineering company, GB Precision, has been transforming additive manufactured laser sintered parts into high precision tooling components at its Birmingham facility. This is a development of work already being undertaken for a customer in the high-volume, high-precision packaging sector, which has been investigating the potential benefits of laser sintering as a way of reducing the number of tool components, improving cooling performance and therefore the price/ performance of tooling overall. The design improvement program is being carried out in a multi-stage approach to ensure that each set of changes is completely tested before moving on to the next. The first development has been to amalgamate three conventionally machined components into a single sintered one – this, on its own, has resulted in a 10% cost saving. It is these items that GB Precision has been transforming
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into finished, high-accuracy, fine-tolerance components using its advanced machining equipment and skills. When they arrive, the sintered parts are very rough and granular, so that one of the very first challenges is to decide where the machining datum should be. Also, where conventionally the components would have been machined out of solid bar, the work holding would have been straightforward. With the sintered parts that is not possible, so both machining processes and work holding need to be changed. In addition, the material itself
poses significant machining challenges. GB Precision has had to experiment with speeds and feeds, depths of cut and differing finishing tools and grinding wheels – the parameters previously used for conventionally machined parts did not apply when machining the sintered metal. As Director, Paul Turner, explains; “This has really been a “learning by doing” experience. The first batch proved to be very much of an education: the sintered material was incompatible with the tools and roughing process that was used for the conventionally machined parts. However, we have overcome these problems and have developed a process that solves all these issues. “There is no doubt in my mind that a combination of laser sintering, conventional machining and surface treatments will provide significant cost, time and material savings and really is the future – and we are determined to be part of that future.” 8 gbprecision.co.uk MARCH 2018
Engineering Capacity | TURNED PARTS A new Harrison lathe at Lancashire subcontractor Fairbrother and Grimshaw soon came into its own when an upsurge in orders saw its versatility come into play on larger capacity mill/turn jobs. The machine, a Harrison Alpha 1550XS CNC lathe was delivered in summer 2017. Fairbrother and Grimshaw specialises in CNC milling, turning and boring, from its facility in the Cherry Tree area of Blackburn. The company has a large, loyal customer base, working across industries including paper, automotive, plastics and food, where it provides project engineering rather than simply making subcontract parts in volume. Neil Grimshaw, director of Fairbrother and Grimshaw said: “When our customers contact us, they are looking to solve production issues, so understanding the application and how it works is important for both parties, so in many cases, we encourage our engineers to either improve the parts made or improve the process involved.” Relationships are also key to continued success and production staff are encouraged to get involved with the customer to see the application first-hand, so continued improvements can be made more easily. Neil Grimshaw added, “We are firm believers of pushing what we do with current technology and standing still is not an option for us. We ask our workforce to be the best in everything they do and that MARCH 2018
Making light work of heavy applications
means investment in recruiting and training apprentices to ensure that our skills are passed on. The Alpha manual/CNC lathe is ideal in that sense as it is an easy switch from turning manually to using the Alpha with the minimum of training. “We already have some Colchester manual turning machines and we have a range of VMC’s and CNC turning centres from many suppliers, but the large capacity turning applications were difficult for us to manage. The Alpha XS has helped us raise the bar and added a different dimension to our turning capability. This, in turn has already helped spread our
reputation and we are taking on more work because of it.” The 2 metre between centres Alpha 1550XS has a generous swing over bed of 554mm and a 104mm spindle bore and with its large 15kW motor, this means that the 1550XS spindle speeds can reach up to 2000 rpm. Neil Grimshaw said: “Competition in the local area is very high, so to stay in front, we offer our customers long-term commitment by analysing how many components are made over the year and offering call-off quantities whenever they are needed. Pricing comes into this as the regular manufacture of these components helps us to make improvements and reduce cycle times, which the Alpha lathe is an excellent machine for achieving that.” 8 fairbrotherandgrimshaw.co.uk www.engineeringcapacity.com
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TURNED PARTS | Engineering Capacity Following a £750k investment earlier this year, Roscomac has now added two more turn-mill centres with special swarf control features. Last July the Worthing-based company installed two Cincom sliding head turn-mill centres – a top-of-the range M16-V, and a L20-VIIILFV – as well as a Miyano BNE-51MSY multi-axis turn-mill centre, all supplied by Citizen Machinery. However, such was the immediate success in productivity uplift and problem-solving terms of using low frequency vibration (LFV) technology on the L20, that Managing Director Joe Martello ordered two further Cincom machines, a duplicate specification L20 and a smaller capacity L12-VII, both to have LFV technology. Said Cell Leader of the Worthing-based subcontractor, Sean Keet: “We had been experiencing constant problems
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Good vibes from low frequency machining
with swarf when machining certain difficult components made from high grade alloy and some stainless steels plus copper, plastics and even some difficult specification aluminiums. Despite constant monitoring, we often faced significant levels of scrap or re-working, in particular due to swarf marks on critical features.”
Now he maintains that production of these parts has been totally transformed following the installation of the Citizen Cincom L20-VIIILFV turn-mill centre in July and such was the level of realisation that within weeks Mr Martello insisted we bring forward 2018 investment plans and immediately ordered two further machines with LFV. He then added: “Our production people are now insisting that any further sliding or fixed-head machine installations must involve LFV as it is such a game changer.” Mr Keet says the technology made immediate savings in tool life when machining special levers out of 174PH stainless steel. These are 7 mm diameter by 44 mm long with milled flats, a slot across one end, a turned waist 2.8 mm diameter by 20 mm long and a drilled and tapped M3 hole in one end. Tolerances are typically 0.05, but 0.008 mm has to be maintained over a 4.10 mm length at one end of the component. Surface finishes are Ra 1.6. Due to the demands of the material, two changes of tools had to be made each day to produce just 100 parts along with other interruptions to effect utilisation. But with LFV, inserts are now changed every two days and 400 parts are now machined between each change. 8 roscomac.com MARCH 2018
Engineering Capacity | FORMING & FABRICATION The drive into new markets for precision fabrication and welding specialist LTi Metaltech is rapidly gathering pace, following an award-winning year of change and business growth, spearheaded by its new Technical Director, Edgar Rayner. Having been recognised for its support of Tokamak Energy in its major breakthrough towards fusion energy, LTi recently scooped the ‘Best Research & Development Project’ category at the Cotswold Life Engineering, Manufacturing & Innovation Awards 2017. Since assuming the position of LTi’s Technical Director in January 2017, Edgar Rayner’s focus has been on upskilling and diversifying the markets it serves. As part of the company’s movement into other sectors, LTi worked with Tokamak Energy in engineering critical parts for the world's first high-field spherical Tokamak ST40 reactor. It has also built on its work and relationship with Siemens in the specialist manufacture of the intricate tubes and vessels used in MRI scanners to extend its expertise into nonmedical markets. The company is currently working on innovative projects across the food processing, fluid transfer and green energy markets. One of the most exciting of these is the work it’s doing for a Government funded project on ammonia capture. As an alternative energy source for generating greener electricity and the ideal compound for fertiliser, ammonia is increasingly seen as a vital solution in reducing CO2 MARCH 2018
Expanding into fusion and beyond
emissions and making land more productive for food. LTi’s role in fabricating the pressure vessels involved in ammonia capture has been critical, as they need to withstand pressures of up to 500 bar. The company’s role is reflective of its wider strength and capabilities in meeting any complex customer need. Unlike many other fabricators that only manufacture to a specified design print, LTi will always investigate how the process can be further improved, without compromising the original specification. Recently Siemens tasked LTi with identifying ways of developing innovative manufacturing solutions to increase throughput and reduce production and processing costs. Siemens needed this in order to support its wider brief of cutting manufacturing lead-times and costs on its MRI scanners.
LTi was able to overcome these technical challenges by drawing on its breath of technical expertise and experience. This included the deployment of innovative production processes and the use of fully automated production processing in a low volume environment. This was complemented by LTi’s ability to develop sophisticated integrated tooling solutions. Increased investment in automation and the use of the latest waste reduction techniques has also enabled LTi to offer significant benefits to its existing customer base. LTi Metaltech specialises in the precision fabrication and welding of high performance vessels and structures. Formerly part of Siemens MR Magnet Technology, the company is the lead manufacturer of the cryogenic pressure vessels used in Siemens MRI Scanners. 8 lti-metaltech.com www.engineeringcapacity.com
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FORMING & FABRICATION | Engineering Capacity
MTL adds 6m by 2.5m fibre laser Rotherham-based contract manufacturing specialist, MTL Advanced has invested in a new automated large format fibre laser cutting machine. The company chose the 6m by 2.5m 6kw Trumpf Fibre laser as it believes it offers superior contour precision and higher part quality than most other laser cutting machines in the market. The new laser comes fully equipped with a LoadMaster, automatically loading sheets to take the strain off operators and to improve speed and productivity. Karl Stewart, Director at MTL Advanced, said: “Investment in the latest manufacturing equipment allows the business to remain competitive and enjoy sustained growth. This latest investment, which now totals £8.5m over the last 18 months, enhances our production capacity and allows the business to provide a complete service to customers and the markets we serve. “Lean manufacturing and automation continues to be an essential part of our strategy where we have automated large-scale laser cutting machines, a robotic 640 tonne 7.3m press brake, and 10 robotic welding cells”. 8 mtladv.com
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Bridging creative and engineering disciplines
Midlands design engineering business, MarchantCain, recently completed a £40,000 rail contract that spans the worlds of civil engineering, precision engineering and the creative industries. The contract included both the design and manufacturing procurement of two specialist acoustic rail bridges one of which has now been installed at the Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal, as part of the DIRFT III extension project. The second of the two bridges, which were designed in conjunction with renowned silversmith Wally Gilbert, will act as a landmark when installed some time in 2019 for the Prologis Park project, a logistics hub that already includes businesses such as Mothercare, Royal Mail, DHL, and Tesco Not without its challenges, MarchantCain was tasked with designing the bridge parapet with an acoustic barrier, so that it absorbs the noise from 32 freight trains a day, deflecting noise away from the nearby new Houlton
Village, which will see the creation of 6,200 extra houses. The acoustic barrier had to be integrated into the bridge design in order to ensure that the original design aesthetic of the landmark was not compromised. To overcome this challenge, the decorative panels for the bridge were carved in wood, and then moulded in sand. The panels were then cast in aluminium to give the landmark its unique design, whilst also balancing engineering precision with acoustic functionality. Rob Marchant, Managing Director at MarchantCain, said “This project pushed our team to extreme lengths as we worked to overcome some of the many challenges it presented. We were lucky to work with a great designer in Wally Gilbert and other great partners involved in the Prologis project to overcome these issues and design a bridge that is both functional and decorative, and the landmark the client was seeking.” 8 marchantcain.co.uk MARCH 2018
Engineering Capacity | FORMING & FABRICATION Kloeckner Metals UK is set to grow its laser tube processing capacity with the addition of a new Adige LT14 ‘Jumbo’ laser to its already extensive laser cutting portfolio. This new equipment is the latest generation of large diameter tube laser and will allow Kloeckner Metals UK to be one of the few businesses in this country capable of processing parts up to 355mm in diameter and weight up to 100kg/m. In addition to processing hollow section tubes, it can also process large beams, columns, split tees, angles and channels. The LT14 has a 4.5KW Rofin CO2 laser source with the ability to laser cut 20mm thick mild steel and weld prep 16mm thick mild steel material up to 45 degrees.
WH
New ‘jumbo’ laser for Kloeckner
It has 15,5m infeed and outfeed loading and its software and control are 30% faster than previous machines and can import 3D models and assemblies. Clint Jones, Kloeckner Metals
UK Group Commercial Director, said: “We are delighted with this new edition to our processing portfolio. The advantages and versatility of the new LT14 Jumbo laser processing machine will significantly increase Kloeckner’s production capabilities and enable us to better service various sectors such as construction, transport and energy markets which require larger processed parts. “By having these extensive processing capabilities under one roof allows us to offer our customers high quality parts at shorter lead times at the specifications required.” 8 kloecknermetalsuk.com
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MARCH 2018
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FORMING & FABRICATION | Engineering Capacity Malton Laser used advanced laser cutting technology to create a series of functional and aesthetically pleasing sheet metal products for local coffee shop, Leoni’s. These include bespoke shelving and sheet metal components for a coffee dispensing area, which have enhanced services for Leoni’s customers. Simon Robertson, owner of Leoni’s, produced prototypes of the items he required before working closely with the Malton Laser design team to create CAD drawings of his pieces. Malton Laser’s engineers then utilised its Bystronic Bystar 3015 6kW fibre laser machine to precision cut all components required for each item out of stainless steel. These parts were then welded into shape in Malton Laser’s fabrication department by the company’s team of expert welders. Simon said: “I’m quite a creative person and produced a Stainless steel, aluminium and mild steel supplier thyssenkrupp Materials (UK) has unveiled a dynamic online tool to guide its customers through the technical process of buying metal. To help customers determine the quantity and price of the metal that they require, thyssenkrupp Materials has launched a variety of browser extensions including a Metal Weight Calculator, an easilyaccessible and simple-to-use web app, for both Google
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Special brew for coffee shop
series of mock-ups of the items I wanted creating, before taking these to the Malton Laser team. I had specific ideas – especially for the coffee dispensing area – and Malton Laser worked closely with me to bring my ideas to life. “Nothing is a problem for the Malton Laser team – the engineers have gone above and beyond to manufacture stainless steel items that are practical yet visually appealing, all the while being unique to my coffee shop.”
Malton Laser specialises in providing a full sheet metalwork service, from laser cutting and pressing to fabricating, powder coating and assembly. Charles Corner, managing director of Malton Laser, said: “Simon is a good friend of mine, and when he came to Malton Laser for assistance in manufacturing the items he required for his coffee shop, we knew we could provide a viable solution for a fellow local business. “Utilising our cutting-edge laser cutting and welding technology, our engineers have fashioned a series of products for Leoni’s from quality stainless steel. Working closely with Simon and using his prototypes, our engineers were able to produce products to an exact specification, making them unique to Leoni’s and meeting Simon’s needs perfectly.” 8 maltonlaser.com
Weight calculator lightens the load Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. The free browser extension can be used to calculate the weights of a variety of different metals and the yield of sheet from a coil, as well as to convert the square metre price from a kilo price. Terry Sargeant, CEO of thyssenkrupp UK Plc, said: “As a leading manufacturer of metals, we are constantly on the lookout for new ways to lighten the work load for customers when purchasing our products – and we
are delighted to be doing exactly this with our dynamic Metal Weight Calculator. “As many of the mills that manufacture metal operate on a cost per kilo basis, calculating prices per metre or per sheet can be a difficult procedure for those looking to buy in smaller quantities. This calculator bridges that gap, taking the work away from customers and doing it for them. 8 thyssenkrupp-materials.co.uk
MARCH 2018
Engineering Capacity | FORMING & FABRICATION Harlow-based Gratnells Engineering has invested in an advanced BLM fibre laser tube processing system that will give customers even faster turnaround times. The new BLM LT Fiber machine sits next to an existing LT5 laser tube cutting machine designed to cut from small to medium diameters and thicknesses of metal tubular sections. The LT Fiber allows tubes of any shape to be cut, process of special sections and even open shapes without any additional special equipment required. The laser cutting system has an automated unloading and support system for pre-cut lengths up to 6100mm, automatic weld seam detection, and a module that maintains the cleanliness of the internal tube surface whilst machining. Anti-crush technology makes the machine capable of processing even the lightest of tubes without deforming the walls. The equipment also reduces waste by setting the sequence of parts to be cut and minimising end of bar scrap. The additional BLM LT Fiber machine is already helping to increase factory efficiency by allowing unloading to various positions, with finished parts from one machine being unloaded whilst production continues uninterrupted on the other. The need to manually separate parts from different orders has also now been eliminated. The company says that tube laser cutting continues to grow in MARCH 2018
Fibre laser tube processing
Gratnells Engineering decided to invest in state-of-the-art laser technology to enable us to offer fast production runs with the best quality finish, to our customer base. This substantial investment will allow us to continually support the ever-demanding needs of modern manufacturing clients
‘‘
popularity as it offers a quick route to a precise finish, eliminating conventional, time-consuming stages such as marking out, sawing and finishing whilst delivering significant cost savings. Loic Jones, Operations Director, says “Gratnells Engineering decided to invest in state-of-theart laser technology to enable us to offer fast production runs with
the best quality finish, to our customer base. This substantial investment will allow us to continually support the everdemanding needs of modern manufacturing clients”. The Gratnells Engineering factory can turn around tube laser cutting jobs within 3-5 days from receipt of order and can process parts from a variety of media including 3D models, xt files and solid works. This is particularly beneficial for bespoke automotive and point-of-sale components where the minimum quantities can start at one. 8 gratnellslasercutting.com www.engineeringcapacity.com
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FORMING & FABRICATION | Engineering Capacity
Latest score at Hampden Park A&J Fabtech has completed the digital scoreboard enhancement work at Hampden Park, Scotland’s national stadium in Glasgow. Hampden Park, Scotland’s national stadium, located in Glasgow, is the second-largest football stadium in Scotland and is one of the top 12 largest stadia in the UK, with a maximum capacity of 51,866. The ground is the home venue of the Scotland national football team and amateur Scottish league club Queen's Park F.C. The stadium hosts the latter stages of the William Hill Scottish FA Cup and Scottish League Cup competitions, as well as a variety of other events, including music concerts and other sporting competitions, such as rugby and boxing matches, as well as athletics championships and games. Hampden Park planned the renovation of the video displays and their steel structures, in order to upgrade stadium infrastructure and provide the ultimate game day experience to its fans and visitors, especially in view of the upcoming UEFA EURO 2020. Therefore, Hampden’s management team needed support to quickly build two steel TV structures at each end of the stadium to mount its brand-new LED video displays. Due to its 40-year experience in fabrications and the installation of industry-leading bespoke steelworks (including scoreboard enhancements for other stadiums across the UK) A&J Fabtech was contacted to complete the project. 24
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More precisely, the company was responsible for the fabrication, welding and surface preparation (shotblasting) of two 104 square metre steel TV structures. The A&J Fabtech team worked hard to punctually deliver the steel structure, which needed to be installed during an extremely tight window between the semi-finals and final of the Scottish Cup. Even though time was a main concern, the project was completed in a timely manner, with works beginning in April 2017 and completed the following month. A&J Fabtech’s fabrications needed to fit the new, larger video displays and adhere to the customer’s design. To fulfil these requests and provide an optimal structural engineering service, A&J Fabtech closely collaborated with Scottish FA, Daktronics (the world’s leading video board supplier) and UK’s best signage experts Ashleigh Signs, which installed the steelwork. Thanks to this joint effort, the football ground now features two elevated 13HD video boards of 102 square metres each.
In addition, providing a highquality final product was key to ensure the installation would be performed safely and efficiently, and that no risk would be posed to the fans during any events. A&J Fabtech’s experience made it possible for the steel structure to meet the highest quality standards: the scoreboard frame is CE marked and compliant to BS EN 1090 Execution class 3, which refers to the manufacture of structures made of steel up to strength class S700, and ISO 5817:2014 Level C, that concerns welding acceptance. Mark Wright, Managing Director at A&J Fabtech, commented: “Highly trained engineers with many years of experience managed this ambitious work and ensured it was delivered to the customers’ needs and their satisfaction. We are proud to have contributed to the renovation of the screens, which greatly improves the instadium experience for tens of thousands of fans.” 8 ajfabtech.com MARCH 2018
Engineering Capacity | FORMING & FABRICATION A Cornish factory has supplied the National Theatre with special springs to make eerie sound effects for its current production of Macbeth starring Rory Kinnear and Anne-Marie Duff. The National Theatre approached the Redruth factory of European Springs and Pressings to develop springs that enhanced the sound production of the performance. Simon Allen, Instrument Maker and Sonic Bricolage for Macbeth at the National Theatre says: “We were looking to procure some large tension and compression springs to use as musical instruments, played on stage by two professional musicians. I approached European Springs & Pressings with the need to develop a bespoke solution. “Built into the infrastructure of the stage set, the springs are struck, bowed and scraped with amplification. Although there are instances of car springs Stroud Metal Co has invested in a new Chin Fong OCP-110EL press that will boost its capacity for high volume progression presswork. The machine is being supplied by Worcester Presses Ltd. Traditionally known for deep drawn components, Stroud Metal Co has seen healthy growth in both high volume deep drawn metal pressing enquiries and traditional progressive die metal stampings. Consequently, it has now taken the opportunity to increase machine capacity
MARCH 2018
Weird sounds for ‘Scottish Play’
and extension springs being used for sound effects, bowing springs is a rarity; and with the right specifications we’d achieve a unique sound quality.” Michael Gibbs, Managing Director of the Cornish factory says: “Our springs and wire forms are used across multiple industries for multiple purposes from automotive to shipping, oil rigs to the medical industry but this really is a first. We’ve had springs featured in the windows of
Liberty of London, we’ve been part of art installations and we’ve formed part of the architecture across key landmarks but being used for sound is a whole new world of productivity. The spring really is the most versatile of products and its engineering is at the heart of so many sectors.” Macbeth runs until 23 June and will play live in cinemas across the UK on 10 May. 8 nationaltheatre.org.uk europeansprings.com
More high-volume press capacity to support the new business won and attract more high volume progressive die component manufacture. Stroud Metal Company and its sister company Cotsworld Plastics (soon to become Stroud Plastics Company) have both seen an increased order book and are proving to be highly successful in a competitive European market. Mr Matthew Large, MD of the Stroud group of companies, commented: “Stroud Metal Co,
has experienced healthy interest from large European OEMs and first tier manufacturers looking to challenge their traditional supplier base and are asking Stroud to partner with them by adding to our capabilities. Whether it be secondary operations, assembly or adding to machine capability Stroud Metal Co is open to investigate opportunities to support new and existing customers.” 8 stroudmetal.co.uk
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MEASUREMENT & TESTING | Engineering Capacity Measurement services specialist Manchester Metrology is using precise laser scanning to help British bike rider Becci Ellis beat her own 260 mph record on a conventional motorcycle. Having smashed the previous mark by 20 mph, Scunthorpe based Becci Ellis set an incredible world record of 264.1mph on 17th August, 2014 and became the world’s fastest woman on a conventional motorcycle over a standing start mile. Achieving the female land speed record also makes her the fourth fastest rider in the world, just 30mph behind the overall world record set by the late American rider Bill Warner. Becci’s amazing feat was performed at Elvington Airfield in North Yorkshire on a 1300cc Suzuki Hayabusa, that, when launched in 1999, immediately won acclaim as the world's fastest production motorcycle. In preparation for Becci’s record breaking run, her Hayabusa was highly modified by her husband, Mike Ellis with the help of a team of dedicated volunteers and sponsors, enabling it to generate a mighty 650 bhp. Not satisfied with being the current holder of the record, Becci is now busy preparing for a new attempt to further raise her own record speed. In addition to multiple further mechanical modifications to the previously record breaking Hayabusa, particular attention is now being paid to the aerodynamics of both the bike itself and to the rider. Rather than use traditional wind tunnel testing method to 26
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Helping Becci smash bike speed record
analyse and improve the bike’s aerodynamic performance, the team behind Becci’s latest record breaking attempt are using advanced virtual simulation techniques. Increasingly, rather than wind tunnel testing, manufacturers are choosing to use virtual simulation systems in their quest to reduce their products aerodynamic drag. By using computer simulations, engineers and designers are able to model a product’s aerodynamics without the need to construct a physical prototype. To help gather the raw data needed to enable the best possible virtual simulation outcomes, the team enlisted the help of Manchester Metrology, acknowledged experts in the field of precise laser scanning and data capture. Mindful of the need to acquire highly accurate data, the
staff of Manchester Metrology used a FARO Edge ScanArm HD to undertake the critical scanning routines of the bike and rider. Mike Ellis explained. “Aerodynamic drag is a strong, unwelcome force that increases with the square of the speed; therefore as the speed we achieve doubles, drag quadruples. Given the high speeds that we are looking to reach, it is obvious that much attention needs to be paid to this vital area. “Without the help of our much appreciated volunteers and sponsors the previously set world record would not have been be possible, nor would our new record attempt. In addition to our long standing friends who have enabled multiple mechanical advantages to be gained, our new attempt to better the previous mark is being helped by the staff MARCH 2018
Engineering Capacity | MEASUREMENT & TESTING of Northumbria University Faculty of Engineering and Environment, Department of Mechanical & Construction Engineering, lead by Professor Robert Dominy FIMechE, C.Eng, MSAE, PhD, DIC,BSc (Hons), who have provided invaluable assistance in the field of aerodynamic virtual simulation. “The raw data needed by Northumbria University for aerodynamic analysis is being gathered by the staff of Manchester Metrology who are using an advanced FARO Edge ScanArm HD laser scanner to scan all aspects of the bike/rider combination and to generate the required files. “We consider that virtual simulation methods deliver Polymer and composites testing specialist, R-TECH Materials, has teamed up with Zwick Roell to run an introductory training course on mechanical testing of composites. The one-day course in April is designed for people with a limited experience in the principles and practices of testing composite materials. Combining classroom-based theory with practical demonstration for the most common mechanical tests, ranging from the simple flexural testing to the more complex testing such as compression testing, the course covers everything you’d expect from an introductory training event including; defining what a composite material is, the common terms used in
MARCH 2018
quicker results than wind tunnels do, in addition they cost less and provide us with better results. A major advantage for us has been that the software used by Northumbria University can instantly indicate where our aerodynamic weaknesses are and provide invaluable feedback on how to improve our designs.” The advanced Edge ScanArm HD is the latest advancement in FARO’s popular ScanArm product range and provides point cloud capture with rapid speed, superior resolution and high accuracy. Philip Knowlson of Manchester Metrology concluded. “Given our need to perform multiple, highly precise scans of the motorcycle
and rider, and to generate the vital data required for aerodynamic virtual simulation purposes, we chose to use an Edge ScanArm HD. The advanced FARO product was ideal for this application as it has an exceptional scan rate of up to 560,000 points/second. Also, given the range of different materials we needed to scan, including the bikes faring, wheels and tank, also the rider in her leathers and helmet, it was a major advantage that the Edge ScanArm HD is able to perform precise scanning routines across a range of diverse surface materials without the need for any surface preparation or the use of targets.” 8 manchester-metrology.co.uk
Learn how to test composites mechanical testing and why mechanical testing is carried out. It also looks at the theory of why the specimens used for testing are the shape and size they are and how to optimise your test setup to get consistent practical results. Alan Thomas of Zwick Roell UK, who approached R-TECH Materials to run the course last year explains: “We offer many introductory testing courses to industry and when it came to a knowledgeable and professional composite testing provider we could have done no better than R-Tech. R-Tech’s laboratory facilities and high quality technical knowledge provide the perfect foundations for composite training and the quality of the course surpassed our expectations”
Following on from the successful inaugural course in November last year, where all delegates rated the training as either excellent or very good, it is expected that this course will be over-subscribed, same as the last one, so book early. Geraint Havard, R-TECH Materials’ Composites Manager, said: “We are really excited to be running another course in 2018. Last year’s course was hugely popular, so we decided to schedule another course for this spring. Feedback revealed delegates really liked our approach of combining theory backed up by practical real-life lab demos.” 8 r-techmaterials.com
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MEASUREMENT & TESTING | Engineering Capacity
Data supports race success Following on from a successful technical partnership during 2017, Physical Digital has renewed its agreement with reigning British Touring Car Champions West Surrey Racing (WSR) for the 2018 season. Physical Digital has been involved in the Motorsport industry for many years, using 3D optical measurement to assist numerous clients by capturing high-accuracy and high-resolution data that is vital for continuous development, analysis and improvement of competing vehicles. This is where Physical Digital’s partnership with WSR has proved invaluable for the team, enabling them to prepare for this year’s championship. Since the thrilling BTCC finale race at Brands Hatch back in September 2017, Physical Digital has been working hard with WSR providing 3D optical measurement services for various components of the BMW 125iM Sports touring car. Its engineers have captured and supplied WSR with vital data required for post-season analysis of the performance of the cars. Physical Digital uses both 3D optical measurement and photogrammetry simultaneously to vastly increase the scanning area, whilst not incurring large deviation errors. In such a competitive environment, this highly-accurate and precise data has proved essential for the team. Managing Director of Physical Digital, Tim Rapley commented: 28
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“We are delighted to be working with WSR for the upcoming British Touring Car Championship 2018. The 2017 BTCC was our first fullseason as a technical partner for WSR and we have been extremely impressed with their determination, drive and team spirit. After the success of last year, which is testament to the skilled and talented team at WSR, we are proud to continue to support them in their quest to
defend their latest title. It was a joy to see all the hard work pay-off last season, with WSR and Team BMW taking home two prestigious titles, so we are really look forward the next championship.” Dick Bennetts, WSR Team Principal, commented: “The support provided by the Physical Digital team throughout last season was invaluable and contributed to us winning the BTCC Teams’ and Manufacturers’ titles, so we are very grateful to have them on board for 2018. The amount of time saved by using Physical Digital for the 3D scanning has been hugely beneficial to the team, and the overall accuracy of the data provided by their engineers has been essential for the development of the cars. We are thrilled to have them on board as a Technical Partner for the next championship.” 8 physicaldigital.com MARCH 2018
Engineering Capacity | MEASUREMENT & TESTING Keighley Laboratories has extended its aerospace quality standards with additional Nadcap accreditations covering analysis and testing. Tim Clegg, Quality Manager at Keighley Labs explained: “We have extended our prestigious MTL Nadcap accreditation scope by adding Chemical Analysis, Alpha Case and Nitride Depth Determinations, and Compression Testing to our growing list of scopes. 2017 has been a successful year when we’ve also added Nadcap to our Heat Treatment department.” The Nadcap accreditation process included an intensive sixday technical audit involving all the Material Testing Laboratory employees to varying degrees. Mr Clegg continued: “It was a great all-round effort by our Technical Services team and their
More aerospace accreditation for labs
involvement in increasing the accreditation scope has resulted in this achievement for the company. “The Nadcap accreditation demonstrates our ongoing commitment to quality by satisfying customer requirements
and industry specifications. It enables us to support our prime approvals and aerospace customers including Rolls-Royce, Airbus, Bombardier, British Aerospace and Safran.” 8 keighleylabs.co.uk
taking place throughout the guided tour, giving attendees the opportunity to see first-hand calibration solutions on offer. In addition, it will be showcasing its Airtools Mobile facility and laser tracking system. Stephen Crook, Branch Manager at Trescal Yateley, comments: “Following the growth of our facility and our UKAS
accreditations, especially our exclusive to Yateley EMC offering, we decided it was time to open our doors. We are looking forward to showcasing our UKAS accredited laboratories and how our experienced engineers and staff can provide dedicated calibration solutions to match individual requirements.” 8 trescal.com
UKAS lab open day Trescal, a specialist provider of global calibration and measurement solutions, is opening the doors of its Yateley site to showcase their facilities and fleet operations on Wednesday 25 April 2018. The UKAS accredited laboratory provides customers with access to a breadth of skills and accreditations including EMC, electrical, temperature, pressure, optical & mechanical/dimensional. There will be demonstrations
MARCH 2018
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AEROSPACE | Engineering Capacity
More capacity for A350 machining A seventh 5-axis machining centre has been installed at Preston-based, tier-2 aerospace subcontractor, TGM, primarily to cope with increasing volumes of Airbus A350 work. Two years ago, each month the firm was delivering four port and starboard aircraft wing sets comprising 20 parts each, whereas today 10 sets per month are required and the number will climb further over the next two years. The latest addition to the firm's 5-axis capacity is a Hurco VMX42SRTi, with conversational programming built into its WinMax control system. TGM director Sarah Stephens commented, "We already had eight 3-axis Hurco machining centres on-site, including one with an addon rotary axis, so were familiar with the manufacturer's twin-screen, menu-driven control system and graphical user interface. "Our operators have always found it to be user-friendly for shop floor programming and on the latest machine only the fifth B-axis that swivels the spindle head is different, so adaptation was easy. The skill sets were already in place to create 5-axis cycles involving the positioning of both rotary axes. "We purchased extra WinMax software to run on a laptop and use it to program around 90 per cent of jobs run on the Hurcos, including the 5-axis machine, with data for the remaining work entered at the controls on the shop floor. 30
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"Essentially, the Hurco software is an inexpensive way of preparing components for 3+2-axis machining. It is like an extra CAM seat but costs vastly less than the £50,000 purchase price and £5,000 annual maintenance of one of our top-end CADCAM packages alone." The Hurco VMX42SRTi, with its over one metre X-axis travel and 610 mm movement in Y and Z, meets the needs of producing smaller parts for Airbus A350 wings, such as ribs, intercostals and brackets. All components are aluminium except for one, which is machined from titanium billet. Over two-thirds of TGM's throughput is destined for Airbus, with the remainder going mainly into the Boeing supply chain, notably for the 787 Dreamliner. This prime's build rates are also rising, so all of the machining
centres at Preston including the Hurcos are very busy. Steve Holmes, the subcontractor's operations director explained, "One advantage of the Hurco 5-axis SRTi design is that the fifth axis is provided by a ± 90 degree swivelling spindle head, so you do not lose Z-axis travel as on a machine with a trunnion-mounted rotary table. The configuration fitted well with our need to produce 40 Airbus T-pieces per month that are over 30 cm tall. "The other thing we like about the machine is that we can ignore the flush rotary table and lay a large component across the full 1.27-metre fixed table for 3-or 4-axis machining. Alternatively there are Op 1 / Op 2 to opportunities. The machine provides a lot of versatility." 8 tgmeng.co.uk MARCH 2018
Engineering Capacity | AEROSPACE Ireland’s aerospace and aviation industry is now worth over €4.1bn to the Irish economy and growing faster than ever says Enterprise Ireland. To put Ireland’s success into context, Irish lessors manage €80 billion in assets worldwide and today there are more than 250 companies actively involved in the aerospace, aviation and space sectors, providing employment for approximately 42,000 full-time workers. With over 50% of the industry’s global spend being managed by aircraft leasing companies headquartered in Ireland and home to 30 international leasing operations, Ireland is uniquely positioned to help drive the industry’s innovation forward. Enterprise Ireland says that the evolution of the aviation and aerospace sector demonstrates the capacity of Irish companies, which have invested in employee skillset, research and development, sales and exports to increase their competitiveness in the sector as well as raising
Irish aerospace industry keeps growing
Ireland’s profile on a global scale, putting it firmly on the map. Ireland has approximately 200 active Enterprise Ireland companies within the sector paving the way for other start-ups to consider Ireland as a location to conduct business. Ireland already has an established supply chain with both prime and tier 1 companies in the UK, which include: Bombardier, Rockwell Collins, GKN and Patton Air. Sean Long, Senior UK Market Adviser for Engineering, Electronics
at Enterprise Ireland, said: “Boasting a competitive and agile aviation and aerospace sector there is tremendous scope for Ireland to build intelligent, innovative and ambitious partnerships with the UK and beyond. At Enterprise Ireland, we are working thoroughly to ensure we use our industry and regional expertise to help companies within the sector achieve their global ambition. “Now worth over ¤4.1bn to the Irish economy, the aerospace and aviation industry is one to watch and at Enterprise Ireland, we are aiming to harness this value by supporting a growing Irish supply chain within the sector. For example, we have been working with Dublin Aerospace, one of the leading Irish providers of MRO services, to help it on its way in reaching a €70 million turnover by 2020.” 8 enterprise-ireland.co.uk
Membership of aerospace group booming The West of England Aerospace Forum (WEAF) announced at its Annual Conference & Exhibition that it has achieved record membership numbers by surpassing the 300 mark. The event was held on the 28th of February and attracted more than 220 senior managers and leaders from companies throughout the aerospace sector,
MARCH 2018
including Airbus, GE Aviation, GKN Aerospace, Leonardo Helicopters, Rolls Royce, and Safran. The theme of the conference this year was “The Challenge of Change”, where insights into activities in the aerospace sector were provided, whether commercial or defence, touching on current developments and future technologies.
Announcements at this year’s conference also included the addition of a new Value Partner, Aro PR & Marketing, to join the 3 existing Value Partners of Castlemead Insurance, KDC Resource and Sandler Training in Exeter. Delegates also learned the result of the 2018 WEAF Board Elections. 8 weaf.co.uk
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TREATMENTS | Engineering Capacity Burnley-based BCW Treatments has won work from a prestigious UK automotive customer that will see extending its production facilities into an adjacent factory. The customer produces high performance 4x4s and special operations vehicles. The work will start at the end of 2018 and entail the installation of a new line for passivating components as a corrosion resistant pretreatment. BCW is an aluminium anodising facility opened in early 2015 to provide a full service to companies using the subcontract machining services of BCW Manufacturing Group's machine shops on the same industrial estate. Anodising is carried out in a Galvatek automated finishing line supplied by Turbex. Currently, an average of 2,600 square metres of product per week are finished across more than 240 part lines. BCW's other tautomotive contracts include the production of aluminium components mainly from A365 castings, 6060 extrusion, superplastic 5083, and 5754 sheet for a premium automotive customer in the UK specialising in manufacturing luxury sports cars and grand tourers. Enquiries have also been received for finishing lightweight components for aircraft, such as cabin seating, and for electric cars, hybrids, amphibious vehicles and lorries. The company hopes to be a major force in component finishing in the north of England by the end of the decade. Dr Andrew Wilson, managing director of BCW Treatments explained, "Although more 32
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Automotive anodiser wins 4 x 4 contract
The Turbex automated anodising line at BCW Treatments, Burnley
than a century old, modern anodising is an exacting discipline requiring extremely close control to achieve the highest quality and even more importantly the correct film properties. "Some manufacturers' car parts are adhesively joined rather than welded and a nominal thickness of the anodic layer of between two and 10 microns is required, above which there is a risk of components pulling apart under stress. A tolerance band of four to six microns is achieved in the Turbex line, so precise is the process." An enterprise resource planning (ERP) system drives the finishing process in Burnley, raising each manufacturing order and triggering the issue of material. The line's control
system learns which aluminium products are mounted on which universal or part-specific jig by scanning the manufacturing order. Once it knows the part number, the correct program is automatically selected. There are four load/unload stations at one end of the line, where components are loaded onto flight bars that progress to a buffer station from where they are picked up by one of two overhead transporters and dipped into 15 tanks sequentially. Up to five jobs can be processed simultaneously in the line. Automatic dosing stations are provided for metered dosing of chemicals into several of the tanks, the quantity being worked out automatically according to the MARCH 2018
Engineering Capacity | TREATMENTS amount of surface area to be anodised on each flight bar. The working environment is clean and fume-free, as each tank is hermetically sealed and the lid is not opened until a transporter is directly above it. Positive pressure pulls the fumes through the handling system and extracts them to a scrubbing unit. After processing, flight bars are returned to four load/unload stations adjacent to the loading area and the test pieces are taken away for analysis, which includes pull and shear tests after adhesive has been applied. Following each successful test, the ERP system is advised that the components are ready to deliver to the customer. The anodising sequence As a conveyor is not involved in transporting flight bars around the system, the anodising process starts in the centre of the line and progresses initially away from the load/unload stations. Alkaline degrease takes up to one hour in the first tank for the most soiled castings and the solution is rinsed off in town water in the next two tanks, the water being recycled between the second and third stage. Tank 4 is a chemical etch using sodium hydroxide to remove preexisting aluminium oxide from the surface of components. Immersion time is controlled to avoid unduly changing of the geometry of the components. It also precludes the need to plug holes, resulting in a cost saving and eliminating the risk of parts being returned by the customer if MARCH 2018
plugs are inadvertently left in at the time of delivery. An eco-rinse cycle in town water is performed in the next three tanks, again with recycling between the stages. The following process, which takes place at the far end of the line in tank 8, is the removal in a mix of nitric acid and hydrofluoric acid of alloying elements on the surface of components, especially of castings, that remain after chemical etching. Two further eco-rinse immersions in tanks 9 and 10 brings the pre-treatment to a close, by which time the components have travelled back past the centre tank towards the load/unload stations. The actual anodising stage of the process is in tank 11, which contains sulphuric acid, and lasts between eight and 10 minutes, during which time a nominal 4 to 6 microns film thickness is deposited. An ecological feature of the equipment is continuous
dosing of the acid, instead of recycling the fluid when the aluminium content reaches say 20 grams per litre. Avoidance of waste is made possible by employing a pump to recirculate the fluid through a retardation unit, where the aluminium is filtered out. A clean rinse in three successive tanks containing deionised water, which is produced locally within the line, ends with an ultra-clean rinse to ensure that conductivity is less than 200 microsiemens. The last stage, prior to the flight bar being taken back to the unload station, is hydrothermal sealing at 96°C in a proprietary chemical blend. Reserved for high-end applications and involving 30-micron particulate filtration, the process seals microscopically small pores created on the surface of components as a result of dielectric breakdown during anodising. 8 bcw-manufacturing-group.co.uk
Two overhead transporters dip flight bars carrying aluminium components into 15 tanks sequentially. Up to five jobs can be processed simultaneously in the line
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JFL are broach and broaching specialists with amost 40 years personal experience. We offer a comprehensive broaching service covering keyways, squares, hexagons and special forms.
Qualiturn are a very modern subcontract machining service. We offer CNC precision Turned and Milled components to your specifications and quantities. We work with all sizes of customers, offering the same service to all. Supplying various market sectors across the world. 18 Merchant Drive Mead Lane Industrial Estate Hertford, Hertfordshire SG13 7AY Tel. +44 (0) 1992 584499 www.qualiturn.co.uk
Hewitt & Topham Ltd Precision gear cutters since 1938. Standard and non standard cutter pitches and pressure angles. Gears from 2.5-6mm diameter. Northern England leading gear specialist through quality and commitment. Royd Way, Keighley, West Yorkshire BD21 3LG Tel: 01535 602587 www.hewitt-topham.co.uk
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MACHINING (5 AXIS) 8
Qualiturn Products Limited
Bespoke surface heat treatment processors. Gears up to 4.5m dia. Shafts or rollers up to 1.5m dia. and 7.5m in length. Machine beds up to 6m lengths. Wheels up to 2.3m dia. We have over 75 years of experience. Shorter Works, Bailey Lane Sheffield S1 3BL Tel: 0114 276 8167 www.flamehardeners.co.uk/
Mini Gears (Stockport) Ltd Mini Gears is a subcontract manufacturer of machined components, gears and racks. Winner of 17 Industry Awards, it has a global customer base, 35,000 sq. ft. facility and over 100 machines. Top Gear House, Bletchley Road Heaton Mersey Industrial Estate Stockport SK4 3ED Tel: 0161 432 0222 www.minigears.co.uk
MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS 8
GEAR CUTTING – GENERAL 8
CNC PRECISION COMPONENTS 8
Unit 2, Deethe Farm Industrial Est, Cranfield Rd, Woburn Sands, Milton Keynes, Bucks MK17 8UR Tel: 01908 585103 www.jflbroaches.co.uk
Flame Hardeners Ltd
PRECISION ENGINEERING 8
JFL Broaches and Broaching
HEAT TREATMENT 8
BROACHING 8
DIRECTORY | Engineering Capacity
Dawson Precision Components Precision CNC milling and turning. Machining centres, CNC Turning centre and multi-axis sliding head machines. Full in-house machining service with additional laser marking and kitting capabilities. Greenfield Lane, Shaw, Oldham, Lancashire OL2 8QP Tel: 01706 842311 www.dpc.co.uk
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year half of this In the first has committed to ing Roscomatic investment, includ More than Engineering of 1000 latest Capacity | £750,000 medium-size small to INDUSTRY ation of the axis NEWS the install (SMEs) have d manufacturers 1MSY multibeen given Miyano BNE-5 . business a centre boost turn-mill ing-based months thanks over the last ten company The Worth to a new £9.7m nist business machi suppor million parts subcontract The Manufa t initiative. some 1.5 cturing Growth completed dispatches from Progra g mme (MGP), ssemblies a year – rangin funded European and sub-a Regional Develo by the assemblies ned castings and Fund (ERDF) pment machi is to large Economic and delivered by parts – and Growth Solutio small turned ing a record has helped achiev companies ns (EGS), 98%. currently the UK to across 13 mins to just ry rate of grow, Martello from on-time delive products and develop been cut new r complex director Joe is driven overcomemins. 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Thisenable has ning now developmentsupported by machialready led tominutes is in the Miyan reduce jobs, with new inute cycle. ent an additio 11 400, four-m ing £1 techniques, significantly positio 359 important, -on-investm to often exceed liaison’ to ns expected nalsingle most ent and investm tivity.” to be Further return setters an ‘opentimes once l produc ongoinne year and the has s createdfrom freeing-up from the g project million a improve overalcomple are and comes y which keeps new machi ted.machi By thenes other tasks for each m people strategto date on the He says the£1.6m end of perfor July, time up of grant ium existing 3-axis arising. ion of lost reducing the workforce replaced beenofmade, utions 10 alumincontrib reduct have and any issuesin tion, four family withedmoney errors We’ve company requir so that a to suppor first-off inspec reloca gottion “We invest ass. te in place andstill previouslyt anothe lot of grants He says: deliver a separa r 2200 firms parts that betwee to and we want risk of setting and the latest n and leadership nownow work in progre g operations 1MSY andbeMarch which manuf automation and manag acturer and cutting Lorrain 2019. of turnin operat technology ion can of the BNE-5 ge ement, R&D, lean ity le e cycle. ction come Holme and see howassitto capabforwar illing produ s, Chief manufacturin The flexibil me the shorta er, milling Execut d s theyiscan e productivity in oneiveturn-m g, Officer its succes take helps to overco require. Howev ofaverag EGS, produced and capacit is that with three age explain is key toadvant of the would cutting ed: “We systems and ve bonus at y, quality assista cycle has pped we still need massi are offer. nce skills we A way part that single It’s never on targets of above the tant sly overla we per times beenateasier, development.supply chain have set for the as the procesaneou it is so imporown engineers total cycle s isworkp proving that ourselves,tools simult quickiece by and the Martin Coats, there is a suppor up toscope to grow our ends oftacan support and our bar real from nt both Operations appetit using SMEs for Director at and be tailored to the of e exact time, through consta to maximise EGS, continu needs ofter. support that targeted business same in order firms come ed: “When diame the busine can barManufa and so training, The to us they “The differen help them grow. 51 mm 15 kW mainss.” vestment and what cturing ead receive strateg -on-in rt ic review from Progra a return kW The fixed-h mme programme ce with our is 7.5Growth we suppo was set one MGMs that two-ax is upwith the void e and improve how customers.” to fill determines of our spindl by manufacturinthat it is delivered left e, both by the o r to barriers are what spindl Manufacturing Advice dary g we delive n to the new Miyan d experts in the way secon Service (MAS) understand s of 5,000 of support is and what the challen who y ordere In additio by tage um speed advan providi needed to maximng companies ges access to ny has alread help them reach their are facing. special in, have the assista the compa CNC sliding head isted potenti impos revs/m nce understand They to d / super “Since Octobe al. manufacturer the langua nes. The to synch ronisehelp two Citizen grow and ge improv12-station, s centre machi L20-VIII MDs are talking highest barrier r 2016, the l for both e. Ideal for turn-mill and can guide This contro is being with 15% . nes, a Citizenfrequency them on making was ‘Contin achieve ven turrets an 18-stro d through two machi low uous Improv of clients all-dring adecisions, before the right featuring followed by ement’, logy) and experienced network of LFV (LFV bringing in ‘Environment specialists BER 2017 manufacturin cutting techno will bring ‘Marke on al’ on SEPTEM and specifi ting growth vibrati g and Market c issues are facing managers ange M16-V 14. 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Get your company noticed with an Engineering Capacity classified profile advert FOR MANUFACTURERS ABOUT SUBCONTRACTORS
PSL Datatrack PSL Datatrack, a flexible production management system for small/ medium size manufacturing businesses, helps to manufacture quality parts, on time and at the right price. PSL Datatrack provides vital information to management and shop floor. Lily Hill House, Lily Hill Road, Bracknell, Berkshire RG12 2SJ Tel: 08456 345931 www.psldatatrack.com
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September 2017
INDUSTRY NEWS | MACHINING | AUTOMOTIVE | SHOW PREVIEWS
MACHINED COMPONENTS: Prismatic parts from bar
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MARCH 2018
PRECISION ENGINEERING 8
Quartremaine Road, Airport Service Estate, Portsmouth PO3 5RD Tel: 023 9267 7747 www.dkwengineering.co.uk
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Wealdpark Ltd CNC mill-turn facility using Star sliding head lathes with bar capacity up to 32mm diameter. Miyano and Doosan fixed head lathes with bar capacity up to 65mm. Hurco vertical machining centre.
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Celebrating our 47th year supplying CNC Turned and Milled Components to all Sectors in both UK and Export markets. From 1 off to Volume, 1-450mm diameter turning, 1x1mtr milling, fast turnaround.
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Precision Products (Brighton) Ltd
Accredited to AS9100 Rev D
Saws (UK) Ltd South Easts leading specialist metal cutting machinery and blade supplier. Agents for Fabris, Pilous, Alligator, Comet, Forestor, Carif and many more. Unit 8, Wealden Business Park, Farningham Road, Crowborough, East Sussex TN6 2JR Tel: 0844 8804511 www.sawsuk.com
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Unit 2 Brookside Avenue, Rustington, West Sussex BN16 3LF Telephone: +44 (0) 1903 776 171 www.precisonproducts.co.uk SAWING MACHINERY 8
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Kirkham Engineering Co Ltd
Precision manufacturers of a wide range of compression tension and torsion springs. Also circlips, wireforms, contacts, antennas and light pressings. Quality approved to BS EN ISO 9001:2000.
A one-stop-shop for high-quality turned parts
Sutton Road, St. Helens Merseyside WA9 3DJ Tel: 01744 22567 www.wealdpark.co.uk
13 - CNC Sliding Heads up to 1”; 14 CNC Twin Turret Fixed Heads up to 65mm; 5 - Twin Turret Twin Spindle; 5 - Twin Turret with Sub-Spindle and 4 - Twin Turret; 4 - CNC Single Turret Fixed Heads up to 6” Billet. Centreless Grinding & T/rolling. All materials - Stainless Steel; Nickel Alloys and other exotics a speciality. Prestwood Place, East Pimbo, Skelmersdale, Lancashire WN8 9QE Tel: 01695 727401 www.kirkhamengineering.co.uk
Simpson Springs & Pressings Ltd
Unit 1, Latimer Road Industrial Est, Latimer Road, Wokingham, Berkshire RG41 2YD Tel: 0118 978 6573 www.simpsonsprings.co.uk TURNED PARTS 8
DKW Precision Engineering
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Engineering Capacity | DIRECTORY
ICEE Comprehensive fabrication facilities offering complete turnkey solution. Design, Precision Engineering, Sheet Metal Fabrication and Welding. Prototypes, one off or batch work. Waterjet Capacity: 4m x 2.25m & dash; materials up to 230mm depth. Aluminium Alloy Specialists. 20 Arnside Road, Waterlooville, Hampshire PO7 7UP Tel: 023 9223 0604 www.icee.co.uk
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